Mandalorian Religion
Religion and Spirituality - Mandalorians were once intensely religious but disillusionment with the old fanaticism and worship of war itself gave way to a far less supernatural belief system among modern Mandalorians. They now regard creation tales, such as Akaanati’kar’oya (The War of Life and Death), as parables to illustrate a deeper philosophical meaning rather than literal supernaturalism. The stars were mythologised as fallen Kings of Mandalore, and there are tales of the mythosaurs, but the pragmatic and sceptical Mandalorians look for allegory in these stories. The manda – best described as a combination of the collective state of being, the essence of being Mandalorian, and an oversoul – is not viewed as a literal heaven. Traditionally, the Mando afterlife is seen as a plane of spiritual energy in constant conflict between stagnation, and the opportunity for change brought about by destruction – a parallel with modern theories of cosmology. In Mandalorian myth, this conflict is symbolised by the eternal war between the sloth-god Arasuum – the personification of idle consumption and stagnation – and the vigorous destroyer god Kad Ha’rangir, who forces change and growth on the universe. Every Mando warrior who dies is said to add to the army of the afterlife, defending wives and children living in its permanent, peaceful homestead – the only place Mandalorians believe they can ever reach a non-transitory state of existence. - The Concept of Dar-Manda - Mandalorian spirituality has its roots in pragmatism. Living the Mandalorian way and believing in the community’s ideals are all that keep a nomadic people together and preserves its identity. Without a commitment to those principles, the community either perishes or is subsumed into the host population. In the absence of a singe species, ethnic heritage and fixed territory, only values and culture survive to pass from generation to generation. If they are not rigorously maintained and reinforced, the community is doomed. Traditional Mandalorians regard a dar’manda – someone ignorant of their Mandalorian heritage – as the worst fate imaginable. It’s a difficult concept for non-Mandalorians (aruetiise, which can mean anything from non-Mando to enemy) to grasp, but it’s the equivalent of having no soul and no afterlife. The obliteration of personal identity mirrors the real obliteration that faces a people who lose their defining culture. Although few Mandalorians believe in a literal afterlife, they do believe in the manda. To be part of the manda, the communal spiritual state of being Mando’ade, a man or woman must understand the basics of their culture and embody the ideals of the Mandalorian kar’ta – the heart, or in this case the soul. This means responsibility for the next generation, loyalty to their people, and a fighting spirit. Without this, a person is considered lost for eternity. The duty to ensure children know enough of their heritage to be part of the manda motivated the Cuy’val Dar – the Mandalorian instructors recruited to train clone troops for the Grand Army of the Republic – to educate their men in Mando customs as they would their own sons. The instructors believed that even if the troops died in combat and never lived in a proper Mando community, they would have an eternal place in the collective conciousness.